Financial Advice For Single Moms…Actually For ALL Moms

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In this week’s Love Essentially, I feature Emma Johnson, author and founder of Wealthy Single Mommy, who offers financial advice for single moms. But actually, the advice is great for all moms–all women, in fact!

Advice for women intimidated by money and finances, from a ‘Wealthy Single Mommy’

by Jackie Pilossoph for Chicago Tribune Media Group

Terrified is the word Emma Johnson used to describe how she felt eight years ago as a newly divorced mom of two young children.

“I sat there on my bed one day. I had one baby nursing and another sitting next to me, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know how I’m going to pay my mortgage,’ ” said Johnson. “My kids and I are going to be living in our red Subaru.”

It was that fear that sparked Johnson’s mission to help other single moms when it comes to money and finances. Six years ago, Johnson, a New York City-based freelance writer and journalist, created her blog, “Wealthy Single Mommy,” a guide for professional single moms.

“So much of my work is about the internal mindset of what holds us back as single mothers and women,” said Johnson, who grew up in Sycamore, Ill., and graduated from the University of Illinois. “We have so many societal pressures that tell us to go for safe jobs so that we can focus on our kids, and there’s an assumption that single moms are poor. I say it can be different, but we have to decide that it will be different first.”

Here are Johnson’s nine tips for women who are intimidated by money and finances: